Ask and Keep Asking

This is the whole "secret" thing. That little bit of knowledge that has been kept from the general population. It's one of those things that you have to figure out on your own. There's a great story in the Bible (I forget where) about a guy needs something from his neighbor at some ridiculous hour of the night. The character  just keeps pounding on his neighbor's door. The neighbor tells the guy to go away, and he just keep pounding until he gets what he wants.

With modern technology, the new twist on this is that it's harder to say no in person. There's something about getting in front of someone and asking that increases your success, like a connecting of the souls or something. So, get out in front of as many people as possible.

Does the Internet Let You Grow?

On the surface, "does the Internet let you grow?" is a silly question. Of course the Internet has no say on personal growth. Yet, sometimes the Internet comes up with cool suggestions. Pandora plays a cool song, YouTube shows a cool video, etc.

However, I noticed today that YouTube is recommending dating videos that I don't watch anymore. Not that someone new is in my life, just that, I've changed my life outlook and don't watch that particular type of video anymore. Yet, in a small way, here's the Internet pulling me back to where I was just a few months ago. It's like modern technology put me in a mold, and I didn't notice until I took a step (and found myself no longer within the mold).

Making it manageable

In a lot of ways, the Internet provides a nifty way of managing an idea that's out of control. It's called a blog. For instance, both this blog and my other blog are ways of taking concepts that I don't fully understand (being successful and forecasting respectively) and making those concepts more digestible for my mind. I can take complex issues and give my thoughts and ideas a regular workout against those tough problems over a period of time. Perhaps I will even get some feed back to hone my thinking, at some point.

By in large, I think with the combination of blogs and Pinterest, I have traveled through the next 10 points of Mr. Canfield's book. I've created, or in the process of creating, a solid image of my future, which actually brings a strong smile to my face.

The Specific Vision

I've started this blog post a few times, which has made me realize that I may not be as specific in my goals as I need to be. However, the other night I watched this YouTube Video on finding your Opus (warning it's an hour long if you're going to watch it).

To boil the whole video down to a line and a half, "Have something you're going to achieve in life (a big grand arching goal) and work toward that goal, no matter what." It got me thinking, and I was able to create this post on my forecasting blog because something in the movie helped me disconnect from the result and just enjoy the journey of learning and explanation.

Now that I have a sort of grand vision: figuring out how El Niño relates to Astronomy and proceeding on to business inventory forecasting from there. Hey, it's a little vague and perhaps misdirected, but it's a start, at least. With that concept in my head, I feel that I can better focus on specific tasks, such as those Jack Canfield talks about.

Because I could be going to a number of locations for work, I'm creating Pinterest Boards, such as Places to Live in 2013 to drill down on a multitude of specific options to approach. For instance, in the currently blank board I just linked to, I'm going to find 3 apartment complexes in each of 5 cites--Cincinnati, Hartford, New York, Boston, Seattle--by next week (total 15), which I want to look at, if I move to that city. Ideally, I would stay where I am, if I stay in Lexington. So, I'm taking specific vision to mean "baby steps" in a What About Bob? style/approach.

Volunteering Vets

I was watching The Daily Show last night and saw a segment on The Mission Continues, which is about veterans volunteering and finding a sense of community after war. It's cool that veterans have a place to go after going through experiences I don't think I could ever face. They definitely have my respect. These folks continue to serve their country and each other.